This invention relates generally to tools of the type having a tool head mounted upon a handle. More specifically, this invention relates to hand-held tools configured for striking hard surfaces (such as axes, hammers, picks, sledgehammers, etc.) or cutting (such as scythes, sickles, hatchets, etc.) that have handles (typically wooden) which may break with extended use, abuse or accidental misuse.
The longstanding, widespread problem which the present invention addresses is associated with tools used for delivering a striking blow upon a workpiece, as when one chops into a tree with an axe. The general category of hand-held tools intended for high impact encounters between the tool head (manipulated by a handle attached thereto) and a workpiece usually ultimately suffer handle damage or breakage. In such cases, it is more economical to replace merely the tool handle, rather than the entire tool. Unfortunately, most prior conventional tool heads are not easily removed from a broken tool handle. This is due in large part to the widespread practice of using wedges to attach a tool head to a tool handle. In this common attachment arrangement, the tool head is provided with a handle-receiving cavity during manufacturing. A wooden handle is then inserted within the cavity and is expanded into a tight fit therein by one or more wedges which are typically driven into the handle end accommodated within the tool head. Alternatively, wedges may be driven into the cavity at locations between the handle and the tool head to create a snug fit by filling cavity gaps rather than by expanding the handle. Disadvantageously, these prior practices make it difficult to separate a tool head from its handle once said handle needs replaced. Usually, the wedges are originally pounded into place so tightly that removal by hand is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Typically, a captive wedge must be drilled out by power tools in order to free it from engagement with the tool head and handle. Since prior tool handles are not easily separated and discarded from prior tool heads, a worker can suffer significant nonproductive downtime while re-outfitting a broken tool with a new handle. The alternative, namely purchasing a completely new tool, is also disadvantageous because of the cost.
Thus, because labor intensive activities, such as construction and lumberjacking, can readily break a tool handle through repeated use and abuse, there exists a significant need for an improved tool head that joins to a tool handle in an engagement that readily allows handle replacement in an easy manner. The present invention fulfills these needs in a relatively inexpensive manner and provides further related advantages.